Naver third quarter operating profit up 88 percent year-on-year

SEOUL (Reuters) - Naver Corp <035420.KS>, South Korea's top internet portal operator, said on Thursday its third-quarter profit rose 88 percent from a year earlier, mostly in line with forecasts, lifted by revenue growth at its messaging app subsidiary Line Corp [IPO-LINE.T].

Naver reported a July-September operating profit of 189 billion won ($179.46 million), compared with a 201 billion won mean estimate of 23 analysts polled by Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S. It reported an operating profit of 105 billion won a year ago and 191 billion won in the previous quarter.